Roll box door construction for gins



March 5, 1940. F, DEEM 2,192,685

ROLL BOX DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR GINS Filed March 6, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l lNVENTOR FRHNK E DEE/US ATTORNEY? March 5, 1940. DEEMS 2,192,685

ROLL BOX DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR GINS Filed March 6, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "r 6 -.l -'38- T 7: I

46 Liv 32 44 if /2 I INVENTOR l I 4 K ArToR- Y3 FPANK'E DEEMS Patented Mar. 5, 1940 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLL BOX noon CONSTRUCTION FOR GINS Frank E. Deems, Birmingham, Ala, assignor to Continental Gin Company, a corporation of Delaware Application March 6, 1939, Serial No. 259,973

12 Claims.

discharge of the roll when it does not fall outreadily in response to the roll dumping manipulation of the outer breast, but also to inspect and clean or repair the ginning ribs forming part of the grate fall so as to maintain the efiiciency of the gin.

It is also desirable that the door when opened to give access to the ribs for cleaning, should be adapted to prevent the falling into the hulling chamber of material from the roll as seed and lint cotton may thereby pass to waste with the hulls and trash.

It is also important that the door should be light and capable of ready and easy manipulation to assume opened or closed position.

One distinctive feature of my invention is that the door is adapted toass ume any one of three positions, one being itsnormal or upright closed position and the other two being selective according to the open position desired, in one of which open positions the door does not obstruct communication between the roll box and hulling chamber of the gin, while in the other it effectively intercepts such communication.

More'particularly, my present invention ccntemplates forming the door as a relatively narrow transverse arcuate member so mounted, as by means of end pins working in guides or otherwise, that in closed position its lower edge coacts with the front wall of the roll box and in its open positions its upper edge is brought into juxtaposition tofor cooperative engagement with, said front roll box wall.

A further distinctive feature of my door is that it is so mounted as to be capable of being inverted when being moved from closed to open position and so disposed in this latter position as to intercept the falling of material from the 3 roll box into the hulllng chamber.

It is a further distinctive feature of my invention that when the door is inverted and swung out to intercept communication between the roll box and hulling chamber, it is so mounted and disposed that it may be swung ov'er'rearwardly,

without opening its bottom joint with the roll box, thus enabling the operator with a quick I movement ofdthe door to flip back into the roll box all material resting on the door, preliminary to resetting the latter in closed position.

My invention further comprises the novel details of construction and arrangements of parts which,'in their preferred'embodiment only, are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. i is a vertical transverse cross sectional view, taken through the double breast of a huller gin, with the outer breast swung open to roll dumping position and the roll box door shown in its closed operating position.

Fig, 2' is a similar view, broken away, with the front breast shown in closed position, and the door shown in fulllines in one of its open positions and in dotted lines in the other of its open positions. i

Fig. 3 is a partial front elevation of the inner breast and door' as shown in Fig. 2, all of the front breast being omitted except the roll box elements carried by the front breast.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view through the door taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an exploded View illustrating in detail a screw guide pin andthe manner of inserting it through the breast head and mounting it in the door.

Fig. Sis a fragmental view looking at the outside of the inner breast head and illustrating the reinforcement thereof to'make provision for the guide slots in which the end pins on the door work. r

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to a double breast huller gin comprising an inner breast lfl adjustably mounted by means of the grooved trunnion wheels H (Fig. 3) on track members 12 which are attached to the gin frame I 13 at each end. I pivotally mount on the inner breast ID, by means of end pins I4 engaged in slots I5 in the forward end of said inner breast,

an outer breast !6 which at its lower end is equipped with suitable mechanism, not shown, to releasably latch it below to the bottom portion of the inner breast so'as to hold the breasts inassembled relationship while they are at work or being shifted on their trunnion supports.

I mount on the gin frame at each end a lug or shoulder ll and connect to it pivotally a link I8 which in turn is pivotally connected to a crank l9. These cranks I9 are fast on a cross shaft 20,

double breast, as it moves outwardly on its tracks, will tilt forwardly and downwardly somewhat to increase the unbalanced condition of the outer breast so that the latter will, when unlatched, swing open fully as shown in Fig. l, to dump the roll.

While I have described somewhat in detail the construction and manipulation of the double breasts, it is to be understood that the same forms the subject matter of companion application Serial No; 248,231 and Letters Patent No.

2,155,181 issued to. me on 18th day'of April, 1939, and are not specifically claimed herein, since my present invention is chiefly concerned with the design and manipulation of the roll box door, which will now be described.

Asis customary. in huller gins, the seed cotton carryingmoreor less hulls and trash, falls first into .the-hulling chamber 25 in the outer breast and passes down into engagement with thehuller ribs-26 between which the toothed peripheries of the saws 21 pass when the breasts are in their normal operating position. These ribs 26 are suitably mounted upon lower and upper rib rails 28 and 29, the latter having its inner face concave to receive the lower concave wall member 3|] ofv the'roll box 3!, that is defined between said wall-3fl' below and the concave door 32 on the front and by the rear curved wall member 33 overhead and the ginning ribs 34 of. the grate fall below, said ribs and member 33 being secured to the cross member. 35% the rear of the inner breast-- The saws will'therefore project through the ribs 34 as-we1las the ribs 26 when the breasts are in Working position, and the elements 30 and 34 will define arounded chamber which is generally referred to as. the roll box, because the saws act to draw-cotton locks and some hulls and trashthrough-the ribs 26 and force same upwardly over the ribs 34, causing same to rapidly accumulateand rotate in the rollbox until a roll isxiormed-which'is.driven by the action of the saws and from which roll the lint is continually being withdrawn through the grate fall 34 by the teeth of the saws, and doifed in a manner well" understood: inlthis art.

In this roll more or less hulls, sticks and trash accumulate and from time to time it is necessary to dump. the. roll. At other times it is necessary to iopen upthe roll box to get access to the saws forinspection, or to the grate fall for the cleaning and removal of obstructions or chokes that may be-reducingthe efli ciencyof the unit.

Theseoperations require access to the roll box .for which reason it is necessary that the door 32 bezmovable so as to afiordsuch access. The door, as shown, comprises the inner arcuate plate 320., joined at its'upper edge by a curvedtop 36 to a frontplate 31 which extends down first inspaced relation to'the'face 32a and then into engagement with saidplat'e to which it is welded or otherwise made fast. Infthe night 36, at each end of the door; I weld or otherwise make fast a cylindrical element'38" having anaxial hole tapped therein forth'ereception'of a screw pin 39 (Eig.' 5) adapt ed to be inserted freely through a hole 40 in a boss 4! on each head of the inner breast !0. One pin 39 is screwed into the bore of each element 38 so as the to leave its plain outer end '13 in position to clear the inner end of the hole Ml of its respective boss but to be engaged in a slot or groove 42 arranged to guide the movements of the door.

It will be observed, by reference to Figs. 1 and that the holes All are located. at the upper end of the grooves 42 which extend forwardly and downwardly, preferably in a curve substantially conforming to'the curvature of the roll box. At its lower end each groove is enlarged as will more clearly appear in Fig. 6, where the boss 41 is shown extended downwardly following the path of the groove and serving to reinforce the breast head whe'rereduced to form the groove.

The pin heads 3 projecting from the ends of the door constitute guides to control the movementoi'ntherupper end of the'door to assume its severalpositions, these pins being free to move inzthe groove 42 untilthey reach ,the bottom of a the slots and there to have room for a slight outward displacement for the purposes later dee scribed.

To or along'the-bottom edge of the door I suitably attach a'stop means such as an angle strip itwhich projects below the adjacent door edge andiis offset therefrom sumciently to receive the upper edge of the roll box front wall member 39 carried by the outer breast It. This member 30, in its preferred construction, is bent back outwardlyand downwardly upon itself to form a front brace member 35, which at its lower edge overlaps and is. attached to the front face of the top rib rail 29, and to end angle irons 46 which are secured to theouter breast heads. The upper edge of the member 30 is preferably disposed substantially above the-level of the roll box axis.

thereby enabling me tonarrow the vertical width dimension of the door andreduce the tendency of material to fall from the roll intothe hulling chamber25 when the door 32 is open. The angle irons ifi-have inclined top. edges slopingdownwardly from the upper level of the rib.rail.29. I provide on the forward upper corner of each head of the innerbreast, near the pivot point 14, an inner lug. orushoulder. '41. I cut notches 48(see Fig. 3) throughthe front door members 3l'and close-the side andfupper walls of each notch byinsertinga.,U-shap,ed .plate t9 and securing it in position between the-innerand outer faces of the door, thusforming hand grips for the manipulation of the door in the manner which will now be described.

Assuming the door in' clos'ed'position, its lower edge rests on and is held'in engagement with, the upper. edge of the member 30; and its upper edge is heldin'place by the engagement of the pins 39" top endof-thegrooves 42".. This constitutes the normal closed-operatingl position ofthe door, andwhenso disposedtherez-still remains'sufiicient. room between the pins 39:and .the extremeupper. endiof'the-agroovesAhtopermit the door tombea.

. 3%} as pivots, to clear 30 and then moved. to assume either of its open positionsshown in Fig. 2.

,If it be desired simply to drop the doorinto position to give access to the roll box, regardless of whether material in the roll box will fall over 1 into the hulling chamber 25, then after its lower edge is clear of the member 45 it will drop down until its pins 39 reach the lower end of the grooves 12, and its rounded edge engages member 36, causing the pins to shift forwardly in the enlarged lower ends of the grooves and the door to hang down freely in the hulling chamber with its lower edge engaging the stops 46. To open the door from this position, it is thrust upwardly until its pins 39 strike the top of the grooves 42,

: when by gravity the bottom edge of plate 32a can swing rearwardly over member 3!! but its stop member id will strike member d5, whereupon the door when released will drop and the pocket along its lower edge will telescope over and interlock itself with the members 30, 45, as shown.

in Fig. 1.

v If it be desired so to manipulate the door that in its open position it will prevent material escaping from the roll box into the hulling chain-i ber, then the door is grasped by its hand holds and lifted to free the bottom edge of 32a from the member to, and shift the pins 39 to the upper end of the grooves 42 which places the door in position for its lower edge as it is swung upward- ?1 1y to clear the shoulders 41 on the inner breast heads. When this occurs the upper end 38 of the door can be swung downwardly until the pins 39 reach the bottom of the grooves 42 and then the door, when released, will fall outwardly and rest in inverted position against the shoulders 41 and the roll box wall members 30, 45, which is the full line position of Fig. 2. The door will now form a forwardly and upwardly inclined shelf upon which material, as the operator opens up the roll, is free to fall and which will prevent this material escaping into the hulling chamber 25. After the ribs have been cleaned to remove a choke or repaired and it is desired to return any material resting on or against the door back into the roll box, the door is swung on its pins 39 as pivots and with its rounded edge 38 remaining in contact with the member 30 so that its free edge follows the path of the dotted line in Fig. 2, which will dump any material resting on or against it into the roll box, after which the door is raised, drawing its pins 39 back to the top of the grooves 42 when it can be swung rearwardly and downwardly until its stop 44 engages the member 45 and then, upon release of the door, it will drop automatically into locked working position with wall 30. It is, of course, necessary to fully open the forward upper portion of the roll box above its wall member 30 in order to shift the door to the full line open position of Fig. 2, but as a general rule no objectionable amount of material will fall over into the hulling chamber 25, because the roll itself will not be disturbed particularly by the manipulation of the door, and the fixed wall member as of the roll box rises enough above the level of the roll box center to hold the roll material therein. The enlargement of the grooves 42 at the bottom allows the pins 39 to shift out enough to give freedom for play of the edge 38 of the open door, as it is manipulated, to assume its various positions andv to perform the functions hereinabove described, and yet gravity will tend to hold the edge 38 against the top edge of member 30 in all open positions of the door.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I What I claim is: a

' 1. In a gin having elements defining a roll box and comprising a lower front wall element and a movable upper front wall element forming a door, and guide means for the door constructed and arranged to permit either the upper or lower edge of the door to be presented to said lower front wall element. 2. In a gin having elements defining a roll box and comprising a lower front wall element and a movable upper front wall element forming a door, guide pins near the upper edge of the door at each end, and downwardly and forwardly inclined guides on the gin in which said pins are free to move so as to permit either the upper or lower edge of thedoor to be presented to said lower front wall element.

3. A gin according to claim 2, in combination with stop elements disposed to-permitthe free edge of the door to swing upwardly past them on said pins as pivots when the latter stand at the upper end of their guides, said stops being adapted to support the free edge of the door when its guide pins stand at the lower end of their guides.

'4. A gin according to claim in which the gin is free of elements that would prevent the door. being opened by being dropped bodily downwardly so as to hang from its guide'pi-ns in front of the lower front wall member of the roll box.

5. In a huller gin, elements chamber and a roll box, the roll box comprising a lower with respect to its supports and an upper door member movable with respect to its supports, means to hold the lower edge of the door member in working relation to said stationary member, movable door mounting means constructed and arranged to permit said members to be disengaged, the gin being free of obstruction to permit the lower edge of said door member when free to be swung upwardly and forwardly and its top edge downwardly to present the door in inverted upwardly and forwardly inclined position with its top edge juxtaposed to said lower stationary member, and stops to hold said door member in said latter position while access is being had to the roll box.

6. A gin according to claim 2, in which the hulling chamber is free of any elements in the path of said door member when in inverted position that would prevent its free edge being swung upwardly and rearwardly into position to dump any material resting thereon back into the roll box.

'7 A gin having members defining a hulling chamber and a roll box, the front concave wall of the roll box comprising an upper movable door and a lower fixed wall to the upper edge of which the lower edge of the door is normally juxtaposed, end guide pins adjacent to the upper edge of said door, downwardly and forwardly disposed guides defining a hulling front wall of the member stationary [orisaid pins zzandsa-r-stop:lip: on the Vbottormedge of :the rdoorrformingaa pocket :adapted :torstraddle-l theaupper edge :of i said :fixedwall and: detachably hold the door -in anormal-..:position; said; pins and; slots permitting;-thesdoor tocbe displaced-Melatively:;=,to t said'lfixed wall. to :give access to the/roll.

bOXa,

' 8:. Awgil'h' having 1.; members" defining a hullingv chamber-anda rollbox, thekfront concave wall;off the rollfibox-*comprisingqan upper movableidoor' and adower fixed wall to the=upperedgesof which thedowerzedge oiithe door-is normally juxtaposed;

end guide pins adjacent to the upper edge of:said

door, downwardly and forwardly disposed'iguides m ion-saidpi-ns; astopnlipalongwthe bottom edge of the door*rforminggtherewith av pocket adapted tostraddle thewupper'edge'oi said'tfixed wall to:

detachably. -hold;the door=in normal position, said pinsland: slots-permitting the doorto be displaced relatively-to:saidfixed wall to: give access to the roll box, and stops for said door disposed to clear.

thexlower redgesaofi the adoor. .whenxit is.:swung. up-

wardlyp about said guide; pins, when they are in: position; at thezrupper: end; of their respective .lg uideseland adapted toaform supportsior said:- lower edgerofa the. door-whenits upper edge is; moved .downwardlyt in: itsaguides into juxtaposi Q;.1-In:angin';; elements; defining a .roll box, thefront concave wall of said box. comprising a.

lower-fixedly mountedpwall and .an upper door ends of. said'pins in the ends of said door, and

said door being movable about and guided by saidpins. to assume its open" or closedxworkingl POSitiOIISL.

a itators 10.2111; aeginchaving rrelativelystationary elementse'formingstheimajor:portion:of a roll box,- aztmova'bleedoor 'element :forming the upper forwardswaii: of: thezroll box and comprising an arcuateunetal. .pl'atelwith stop and latch means on itsazlowemedgeeto:engageandinterlock it with azzrollxbox wallathe uppenedgeof said door beingeibentl'overzand. outwardly to define a rounded topredge handles lprovidedson said door, blocks secureduimthe ;-en'ds.of the .bight at the top'of thezrdoomzguide rand pivotspins screwed in saidblockszsmas togproiect endwise from the door, guides inizthetendiwallszof;the.rollrbox in which said .pinsoworkglandzaperturesrin said guides to permitzsaidxphtrslo.be.;inserted. in said blocks throughatherendmal-ls tozmount the door in positionssaid guides-.beingdisposed .to permit the door When-zinverted :tmpresent its upper edge into jux tapositiom oatheuupperzedge: of the stationary frontxwtai'lt tithe J.O1'1.-b0XiOn"WhiCh itS lower edge hadszbeemmountedsj 11;;Aiiginaaccordingi.to-claim 2,v in which the loiveio-edges of i'LhELcdDOI :in its :normal operating position: is: provided; with. stop means which underhangs-.-its:lowervedge and is spaced therefrom so as to straddle the upper edge of the lower front ".wall element when the door-is in normal closed1positon-,gsaid-Li stop means being so disposeduaslrtol engage said i wall element when said guideepinszarerat'the extreme upper ends of their guides,::thereby to prevent the free edge of the door:swingingrinwardly into the roll box while said ::guide1pins are engaged in said guides.

12;: In a" huller gin; havinga roll box and liulling.

chambenyaaldoorsformingepartof the upper front of: the roll boxy mountings-means for said door' whichllpermititto beinverted. to give access to the rollsboxuandmieans to support the inverted door imposition to intercept 'escape of material from the-roll boxinto the hullingzchamber.

FRANK-E. DEEMS-J 

